140. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the necessary accommodation at a school (details supplied). [74939/26]

I can confirm that an application for capital funding under the department's Additional School Accommodation scheme was received from the school in question. The scope of the proposed project was for the repurposing of existing accommodation for the relocation of an existing special class, additional special tuition rooms and the provision of modular mainstream classrooms to replace displaced rooms.

The department subsequently published the NDP (National Development Plan) Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors 2026 - 2030 which is based on the funding allocated over this period. This NDP Sectoral Plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs within the allocated capital funding across all schools in the country.

This allows the department to keep a strong focus on the provision of additional capacity to cater for demographics, new housing developments and the roll-out of additional special classes for children with additional needs. This approach reflects the department's fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child.

The department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued rollout of projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, there will continue to be a strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity across the school estate and also ensuring that school admissions policies and processes are targeted at meeting local mainstream and special class requirements.

The process also considers the latest available demographic and capacity data, the department’s energy and condition inventory (the validation of which is due to be completed by late 2026/early 2027), opportunities for phased progression of projects to prioritise the most urgent accommodation needs and consultation with patrons and management bodies on their respective priorities for progression.

The proposed project at this school will be considered as part of this prioritisation process, along with all other proposed projects not already in the building pipeline and existing projects at the required stage of readiness.

The department recognises the importance of the proposed project to the school and is committed to working closely with the patron and school authorities. Officials will engage directly with the school to clarify how best the school’s requirements can be best addressed within this context.